New Renault Clio R.S makes a surprise appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Renault Alpine A110-50 concept-car was supposed to be one of the highlights of Renault’s Goodwood weekend, but Renaultsport managed to surprise us with a sneak peek of the next generation Clio R.S. as it made a brief appearance on the hill.

With Chief Operating Officer, Carlos Tavares, at the wheel, the camouflaged test car raced up the famous hill-climb just a few months ahead of its official reveal.

We understand that unlike its peaky normally-aspirated predecessor, the new Clio R.S. will be powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged four cylinder engine producing a little over 200bhp. There is talk of a dual-clutch gearbox being offered as an option and it will also only be available as a 5-door model, just like the standard car.

The Clio Renaultsport is due to be revealed at the Paris motor show in September, after the standard car is launched by Renault next week.

The Clio R.S. joined a huge array of Renaults past, present and future including the Type-K, rally-winning R5 Maxi Turbo and RS01 Formula 1 car.

The 17bhp Renault Twizy was in regular use earlier in the week during the Goodwood Moving Motor Show, while Carlos Tavares was joined in his driving duties by two-time F1 world champion, Alain Prost, and rally legend Jean Ragnotti.